Mobile Food Market Needs Assessment

Food insecurity (i.e., households’ insecure access to adequate food due to financial constraints) affects roughly 12% of households annually in Canada and 13% in the city of Guelph, Ontario, and is linked to poorer physical and mental health among adults (Tarasuk, Mitchell, & Dachner, 2016). Physical and financial barriers to accessing food, including lack of transportation and personal financial constraints, are amplified in the Guelph neighbourhood of Grange Hill East by the absence of supermarkets and affordable food options in the area. The SEED—a community food initiative of the Guelph Community Health Centre that focuses on building healthy communities and addressing the underlying issues of food insecurity and poverty—is interested in addressing food insecurity in this neighbourhood by opening a mobile food market (MFM). MFMs can be set up in different locations and can be a useful alternative for neighbourhoods with few grocery stores. There is evidence that MFMs have been successful in increasing food access, particularly fruit and vegetable intake (Hogan & Wardlaw, 2016).